Introduction to The Stranger

by Albert Camus

Albert Camus(1913-1960)

Born in AlgiersFather killed at the Battle of the Marne 1914Mother went to work as a cleaning lady in AlgiersRaised by mother and grandmother in povertyAttended college on scholarshipMoved to ParisWrote his first novel, The Stranger, in 1939

About the Author

Began writing in 1932, at the age of 19

Married at 20

Divorced at 21

Joined the Communist Party for about 3 years

Suffered a great disappointment in 1938 when he could not pass the medical examination (tuberculosis) required for him to continue his government-funded studies at the university, where he was studying philosophy and hoping to become a full professor

• Camus turned to a career in journalism

• Wrote social-justice pieces for a left-wing newspaper

• Publication was soon suppressed by Algerian authorities for its pro-Arab slant

• In 1940, Camus moved to Paris and began working for a daily newspaper

• Married again that year – Camus was very vocal about his disapproval of the institution of marriage, and this marriage lasted only 5 years

• Wrote and edited Combat, an underground Resistance newspaper published during the Nazi occupation of France.

•The Stranger and The Myth of Sisyphus were published in 1942, bringing Camus almost instant fame.

•Followed numerous other novels

•Camus received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957.

•Camus died in an automobile accident in 1960•The First Man – an autobiographical novel – was in progress

(released in 1995.)

Where is Algeria?

How it all relates to Camus’ life: 20 when Hitler’s rise to power began in 1933

Spent his 20’s watchingescalation of World War IIestablishment of concentration campsoccupation of France

31 when Paris was liberated then witnessed Communist takeovers all over Europe and violent conflict in Algeria

As a philosopher, intellectual, and artist, Camus tried to make sense of the turbulent times through which he lived.

Absurdism & Camus

About the Title -- The Stranger

Originally written by Camus in French.

Titled L’Etranger -- the literal English translation is “the stranger”

English translation -- The Outsider (published in 1946)

What connotations do “stranger” and “outsider” have for you? Do they seem synonymous? How about “alien,” “foreigner,” or “intruder”

(synonyms for “stranger” in Roget’s Thesaurus)

About the Setting

Setting -- French Algeria in North Africa

Climate -- Tropical (particularly important to the story)

Highest temperature ever recorded: 136 degrees

What associations to you have with tropical climates and intense heat and sun?

What do you imagine it is like to walk along a tropical beach, the bright sunlight glaring off the water and sand?

The Antihero

Instead of manifesting dignity, power, and heroism in the face of fate…

Is a protagonist whose character is at least conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero and is, in some instances, its antithesis.

HINT: Who are some of the stereotypical heroes we have read about?

Odysseus

Julius Caesar

Jay Gatsby

Hamlet